Naixuan Liao’s experience living in different countries has made her into scientist who deeply values collaboration and communication, and she is excited to channel this into shaping her PhD project.
Naixuan Liao is deeply interested in emotions and affective disorders. In short, she wants to understand how emotions emerge from neural network processing, how these processes are altered in affective disorders, and how they can be reversed or prevented. During the pre-PhD year, she will approach the topic from different angles to build the foundation for a PhD project:
“I aspire to become a neuroscientist who uses multimodal, cross-species approaches to study emotions, to help people cope with stress from everyday life and those suffering from depression and anxiety. My prior research on genetics in cell models and emotion circuits in animals has provided me valuable insights into how the brain works, but the picture feels incomplete without firsthand experience in human research. NAD’s rotations offer a unique opportunity to bridge this gap, allowing me to explore various aspects of human studies,” Naixuan says.
During her first rotation in the Bang Lab at Aarhus University, Naixuan will learn to do and analyse electrochemical and electrophysiological recordings from deep brain structures in patients who are going to receive deep brain stimulation.
Naixuan is originally from China, but she completed her master’s degree in Innovative Medicine in the UK which also includes internships in Sweden and the Netherlands. Her experience living in different countries has made her curious about how people think and feel across the world. Through research, she hopes to acquire knowledge that helps herself and others around her to cope with the stress of everyday life and those suffering from psychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety.
Outside of the lab, you will find Naixuan on the couch with a book and a cup of tea, hiking in nature or fencing.